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Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 1984Using Fire in Forest Management: Decision Making under Uncertainty
Prescribed fires are fires that are started under controlled conditions. This is an important strategy …
Prescribed fires are fires that are started under controlled conditions. This is an important strategy used by professionals in modern forest management. Designing, planning, and executing strategies that rely on prescribed fires is challenging because of multiple uncertainties (e.g., weather, fire behavior, etc.). In this paper, decision analysis techniques are used to evaluate prescribed fire decisions in three national forest case study applications.
Decision Analysis | Climate/Environment | Environmental Health -
ArticlePublication 2020Valuing COVID-19 Mortality Risk
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life …
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life (VSL) in the United States (about $10 million) are appropriate for evaluating policies that affect risk of COVID-19. This estimate may be too large, because: (1) VSL estimates marginal values but COVID-19 risks can be non-marginal; (2) VSL is estimated for the average resident, but COVID-19 mortality is concentrated among the elderly; and (3) the pandemic has caused substantial losses…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Infectious Diseases | Preferences/Values | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID and the Age–VSL Relationship
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions …
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions in analyses of lockdowns and other policies. Many rely on a population-average estimate of the value per statistical life (VSL); others adjust VSL for life expectancy at the age of death. The article explores the implications of theory and empirical studies, which suggest that the relationship between age and VSL is uncertain; these uncertainties in turn may affect whether the…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Infectious Diseases | Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | North America -
Online LearningVideo, Teaching Resource 2020Valuing Statistical Lives: Concepts, Current Practices, and Challenges
Many policies aim to improve longevity, decreasing the risk of death in each year, and …
Many policies aim to improve longevity, decreasing the risk of death in each year, and the value of these risk reductions often dominate the estimated benefits of risk regulations and other policies. This value is often expressed as the value per statistical life (VSL), a term that is widely misunderstood. It is not the value that the analyst, the government, or the individual places on saving an identified life with certainty. Instead, it reflects individuals’…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global -
BookPublication 2018Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life …
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life (VSL) approach for valuing changes in mortality risks and argues that its more widespread use would create a safer and more equitable society. The author estimates these values based on how much more money workers would demand to take on more hazardous jobs; his current estimate is $10 million. The book addresses numerous topics such as whether older people’s lives…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReportPublication 2017Underestimated Cost of the Opioid Crisis
This report on the opioid public health crisis was released by the White House Council …
This report on the opioid public health crisis was released by the White House Council on Economic Advisors (CEA) in November 2017. It corrects previous estimates of related costs by adding the value of the associated deaths. Earlier estimates focused on medical and other expenditures, while the new report also includes estimates of the value that individuals place on reducing their own risks of premature mortality. The report notes that, in 2015, over 33,000 Americans…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mental Health | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2017When Cost-Effective Interventions Are Unaffordable
Many health interventions deemed cost-effective are not affordable. Despite the importance of affordability to policymakers, …
Many health interventions deemed cost-effective are not affordable. Despite the importance of affordability to policymakers, little of the cost-effectiveness literature in global health addresses this issue. Budget impact analysis (BIA) describes an intervention's short-term costs and savings from the payer's perspective. This paper assesses the current use of budget impact analysis (BIA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in health economic assessments conducted for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The authors recommend steps researchers and policymakers can…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Government/Law | Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
ReportPublication 2016Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control
This report examines the current research and evidence base surrounding the economics of tobacco control—including tobacco …
This report examines the current research and evidence base surrounding the economics of tobacco control—including tobacco use, tobacco growing, manufacturing and trade, tobacco product taxes and prices, and tobacco control policies and other interventions to reduce tobacco use and its consequences. The report was co-produced by the National Cancer Institute and the World Health Organization and is intended to inform tobacco prevention and control programs and policies in countries around the world. There are 17 chapters which can be…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Costing Methods | Chronic Disease/Risk | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2014Evaluation of FDA Benefit-Cost Analysis of Graphic Warning Labels
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required to do a regulatory impact analysis assessing …
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required to do a regulatory impact analysis assessing the costs and benefits of its tobacco products and other regulations. This paper provides a critical review of the approach the FDA used in its proposed and final graphic warning label rule, and includes recommendations on how to improve the analysis in ways that account for the differences between tobacco use and consumption of most consumer products. To date, FDA…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Costing Methods | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | North America